Solid state light system with broadband optical communication capability

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for use in conjunction with a standardized electrical connector of a conventional light bulb or tube with one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) electrically coupled to at least one electrical connector compatible with a conventional light connector, wherein the LEDs include at least one multiband-type ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver having one or more optical channels defined using one or more OFDM bands; and a controller coupled to the LEDs, the controller adjusting LED light output and communicating with the optical network using the optical transmitter and receiver. In other embodiments, the LEDs include at least one optical transmitter and receiver optically coupled to an optical network using at least one LED with a first mode to generate light and a second mode to receive optical transmissions using ambient light.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/300,598filed Nov. 20, 2011, the content of which is incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a light system with communicationcapability.

Advances in computer and wireless communication technology have resultedin convenient access to data for the population. One common wirelesstechnology, IEEE 802.11, is used to provide wireless local area network(WLAN) computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands.They are created and maintained by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee(IEEE 802). The base version of the standard IEEE 802.11-2007 has hadsubsequent amendments. These standards provide the basis for wirelessnetwork products using the Wi-Fi brand name.

To connect to a Wi-Fi LAN, a computer has to be equipped with a wirelessnetwork interface controller. The combination of computer and interfacecontroller is called a station. All stations share a single radiofrequency communication channel. Transmissions on this channel arereceived by all stations within range. The hardware does not signal theuser that the transmission was delivered and is therefore called abest-effort delivery mechanism. A carrier wave is used to transmit thedata in packets, referred to as “Ethernet frames”. Each station isconstantly tuned in on the radio frequency communication channel to pickup available transmissions.

A Wi-Fi-enabled device, such as a personal computer, video game console,smartphone or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet whenwithin range of a wireless network connected to the Internet. Thecoverage of one or more (interconnected) access points—calledhotspots—comprises an area as small as a few rooms or as large as manysquare miles. Coverage in the larger area may depend on a group ofaccess points with overlapping coverage.

On a parallel note, buildings typically include various systems forcontrolling conditions inside the buildings, such as heating,ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and lighting systems.HVAC systems and lighting systems generally operate independent from oneanother. For example, a thermostat can be set to control operation of anHVAC system, while a lighting system can be turned on and off using awall-mounted switch.

At present, building operations can be controlled through wirelesstransceivers such as Zigbee transceivers. Some of the world's leadingutilities, energy service providers, product manufacturers andtechnology companies are supporting the development of ZigBee SmartEnergy. Several other standards groups are also involved with extendingthe reach of ZigBee Smart Energy to more homes around the world.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,829 discloses a light emitting diode (LED) lightbulb that includes plural individual elements as sub-assembly elementsof the overall light bulb. Different sub-assembly elements of a lens, aLED printed circuit board, a housing also functioning as a heat sink, alower housing, and other individual sub-assembly components areutilized. The LED printed circuit board sub-assembly containing the LEDscan also be provided relatively close to a base.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,580,643 discloses an optical data communicationsreceiver for receiving data encoded using optical pulse position, thereceiver having an optical signal reception device; a reference signalmemory for storing a reference channel response signal; and a correlatorcoupled to the reference signal memory and to the optical signalreception device for correlating a received optical pulse with thestored reference channel response signal to determine the optical pulseposition; an output coupled to the correlator to provide pulse positiondata for the received optical pulse.

United States Patent Application 20080317475 discloses an LED light andcommunication system in communication with a broadband over power linecommunications system. The LED light and communication system includesat least one optical transceiver. The optical transceiver includes alight support having a plurality of light emitting diodes and at leastone photodetector attached thereto, and a processor. The processor is incommunication with the light emitting diodes and the at least onephotodetector. The processor is constructed and arranged to generate acommunication signal. The at least one optical transceiver is engaged toa clock, and the clock is in communication with the broadband over powerline communications system.

United States Patent Application 20100106306 discloses an LED-basedlight that can be installed in a conventional light fixture. TheLED-based light can include a sensor operable to output a first signalindicative of whether an area of one or more of the rooms is in anoccupied state or a non-occupied state, and the LED-based light can alsoinclude an LED controller operable to control at least one LED in thelight in response to the first signal. Additionally, the LED-based lightcan include a transmitter operable to output a second signal indicativeof whether the area is in the occupied state or the non-occupied stateto a building environment regulator.

SUMMARY

An LED-based light as described herein relates to “smart buildings” thatcan automatically control various environmental characteristics of oneor more rooms in a building and provide broadband optical datacommunication.

Systems and methods are disclosed for use in conjunction with astandardized electrical connector of a conventional light bulb or tubewith one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) electrically coupled to atleast one electrical connector compatible with a conventional lightconnector, wherein the LEDs include at least one multiband-typeultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver having one or more optical channelsdefined using one or more OFDM bands; and a controller coupled to theLEDs, the controller adjusting LED light output and communicating withthe optical network using the optical transmitter and receiver. In oneimplementation, the LEDs include at least one optical transmitter andreceiver optically coupled to an optical network using at least one LEDwith a first mode to generate light and a second mode to receive opticaltransmissions using ambient light.

In another aspect, a system for use in conjunction with a standardizedelectrical connector of a conventional light bulb or tube includes oneor more light emitting diodes (LEDs) electrically coupled to at leastone electrical connector compatible with a conventional light connector,wherein the LEDs include at least one optical transmitter and receiveroptically coupled to an optical network using at least one LED with afirst mode to generate light and a second mode to receive opticaltransmissions using ambient light; and a controller coupled to the LEDs,the controller adjusting LED light output and communicating with theoptical network using the optical transmitter and receiver.

In yet another aspect, an LED-based light tube operable in cooperationwith a building environment regulator that provides high speed datacommunication and regulates at least one environmental condition in oneor more rooms of a building. The LED-based light includes a tubeincluding a light transmitting portion and a pair of electricalconnectors attached to opposing ends of the tube, the electricalconnectors compatible with a standard fluorescent light fixture; one ormore first LEDs operable to produce light that passes through the lighttransmitting portion of the tube; one or more second LEDs operable as alight sensor to generate a first signal whether an area of one or moreof the rooms is in an occupied state or a non-occupied state; one ormore third LEDs providing an optical communication system; and acontroller operable to control the first LEDs in response to the firstsignal and communicating with other devices through the one or morethird LEDs the first signal indicative of whether the area is in theoccupied state or the non-occupied state to the building environmentregulator.

In one example, a system for use in conjunction with a conventionallight fixture that is electrically connected to a power source and thatis configured to receive a standardized electrical connector of aconventional light and with a building environment regulator thatregulates at least one environmental condition in one or more rooms of abuilding is described. The system features an LED-based light includingat least one electrical connector compatible with the conventional lightfixture, at least one LED, a sensor operable to output a first signalindicative of whether an area of one or more of the rooms is in anoccupied state or a non-occupied state, an LED controller operable tocontrol the at least one LED in response to the first signal, and atransmitter operable to transmit a second signal indicative of whetherthe area is in the occupied state or the non-occupied state. A regulatorcontroller in communication with the transmitter is operable to controlone or more functions of the building environment regulator in responseto the second signal.

In another example, an LED-based light tube operable in cooperation witha building environment regulator that regulates at least oneenvironmental condition in one or more rooms of a building is described.The LED-based light tube features a tube including a light transmittingportion. A pair of electrical connectors are attached to opposing endsof the tube, and the electrical connectors are compatible with astandard fluorescent light fixture. At least one LED is operable toproduce light that passes through the light transmitting portion of thetube. A sensor is operable to output a first signal indicative ofwhether an area of one or more of the rooms is in an occupied state or anon-occupied state. An LED controller is operable to control the atleast one LED in response to the first signal. A transmitter is operableto output a second signal indicative of whether the area is in theoccupied state or the non-occupied state to the building environmentregulator.

Advantages of the preferred embodiments may include one or more of thefollowing. Examples of LED-based lights described herein can be used totransform a building with standard fixtures, such as standardfluorescent tube fixtures, into a smart building. The system iscompatible with standard building fixtures, such as conventionalfluorescent tube fixtures, and thus does not require an electrician toinstall. Many advantages are offered by the LED-based lights describedherein, such as allowing for a low-cost smart building. The system canprovide smart lighting solutions that provide:

Optical building solutions embody the prevailing goal of sustainablebuildings: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Fewer wired and more wirelesssolutions mean less disposed cabling will end up in landfills and lesswaste will be burned and emitted as toxic gases into the environment.

System Retrofits—Wireless optical solutions are ideally suited forexisting spaces because they eliminate the need to remove floors, wallsor ceilings to access control products. People or processes no longerneed to relocate while upgrades are under way, allowing continued accessto labs, sensitive storage, health facilities and critical processareas.

Reconfiguring Space—Open floor plans, multi-purpose areas or temporaryspaces can now be automated. Wireless optical controls and opticalsensors can be easily moved to suit the needs of tenants or one-timeevents. Conference and exhibition halls, warehouses, and auditoriums arejust a few examples of spaces that are frequently restructured fordifferent purposes.

Structural Restrictions—Buildings or areas with concrete, marble andcinderblock can now be wirelessly controlled using light. Spaces withatriums, high ceilings, historical features and other uniquearchitectural elements can now be controlled wirelessly and withoutexpensive wiring or worry of damaging unique architectural features.

Sensitive Environments—Facilities such as hospitals, museums, labs anddata centers often house materials requiring very precise and stable airconditioning and are ideally suited for wireless optical control. Withnon-invasive installation, wireless optical control products make itpossible for these areas to perform to the best of their ability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary smart building with optical networking.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary light tube (florescent light tube replacement)that communicates over optical networking.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary light bulb that communicates over opticalnetworking.

FIGS. 4-5 show various microcontroller embodiments with optical links.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary LED transceiver.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary LED sound transducer.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary mesh network.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary home control and monitoring system for theoptical network.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary smart grid.

DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 1, a smart building system for use in a building caninclude a heater & transceiver 10, an HVAC system with transceiver 12, alight fixture 14, an LED-based light 16, a controller 18A. Thecontroller 18A communicates with one or more light relays or repeaters20. The HVAC system 12 can include known HVAC components, such as aheater, an air conditioner, fans, a thermostat, and ductwork. The HVACsystem 12 can regulate the temperature, humidity, and/or other airquality considerations in one or more rooms of the building. Forexample, the HVAC system 12 can maintain the temperature in one or morerooms of the building at a level near a setpoint temperature input tothe thermostat. The HVAC system 12 can also be capable of controllingairflow between the building and the environment surrounding thebuilding, such as by opening or closing vents, windows, skylights, andother barriers between the building and the surrounding environment. Inaddition or alternative to the HVAC system 12, the smart building system10 can include another type of temperature control system (e.g., acontrol for heated floors), another type of light control system (e.g.,a control for window shades or dynamically tinted windows), or someother control for the building. The HVAC system 12 can be incommunication with the controller 18 as is described below in greaterdetail.

The light fixture 14 can be designed to accept standard fluorescenttubes, such as a T-5, T-8, or T-12 fluorescent tube, or other standardsized light, such as incandescent bulbs. Alternatively, the fixture 14can be designed to accept non-standard sized lights, such as lightsinstalled by an electrician. Additionally, the fixture 14 can includeone or more fixtures. The fixture 14 can be in communication with thecontroller 18 for controlling the operation of the light 16 as isdescribed below in greater detail.

The LED light tube 16 can include a housing 22, a circuit board 24, LEDs26, and a pair of end caps 28 as shown in FIG. 2. The housing 22 asshown in FIG. 2 is light transmitting and has the shape of a cylindricaltube. The housing 22 can be made from polycarbonate, acrylic, glass oranother light transmitting material (i.e., the housing 22 can betransparent or translucent). For example, a translucent housing 22 canbe made from a composite, such as polycarbonate with particles of alight refracting material interspersed in the polycarbonate. While theillustrated housing 22 is cylindrical, housings having a square,triangular, polygonal, or other cross sectional shape can alternativelybe used. Similarly, while the illustrated housing 22 is linear, housingshaving an alternative shape, e.g., a U-shape or a circular shape canalternatively be used. Additionally, the housing 22 need not be a singlepiece as shown in FIG. 2. Instead, another example of a housing can beformed by attaching multiple individual parts, not all of which need belight transmitting. For example, such a housing can include an opaquelower portion and a lens or other transparent cover attached to thelower portion to cover the LEDs 26. The housing 22 can be manufacturedto include light diffusing or refracting properties, such as by surfaceroughening or applying a diffusing film to the housing 22. Forcompatibility with the fixture 14 as discussed above, the housing 22 canhave a length such that the light 16 is approximately 48″ long, and thehousing 22 can have a 0.625″, 1.0″, or 1.5″ diameter.

The circuit board 24 as illustrated in FIG. 2 is an elongate printedcircuit board. Multiple circuit board sections can be joined by bridgeconnectors to create the circuit board 24. The circuit board 24 as shownin FIG. 2 is slidably engaged with the housing 22, though the circuitboard 24 can alternatively be clipped, adhered, snap- or friction-fit,screwed or otherwise connected to the housing 22. For example, thecircuit board 24 can be mounted on a heat sink that is attached to thehousing 22. Also, other types of circuit boards may be used, such as ametal core circuit board. Or, instead of a circuit board 24, other typesof electrical connections (e.g., wires) can be used to electricallyconnect the LEDs 26 to a power source.

The light 16 can include two bi-pin end caps 28 (i.e., each end cap 18can carry two pins), one at each longitudinal end of the housing 22, forphysically and electrically connecting the light 16 to the fixture 14.The end caps 28 can be the sole physical connection between the light 16and the fixture 14. The end caps 28 can be electrically connected to thecircuit board 24 to provide power to the LEDs 26. Each end cap 18 caninclude two pins, though two of the total four pins can be “dummy pins”that do not provide an electrical connection. Alternatively, other typesof electrical connectors can be used, such as an end cap carrying asingle pin. Also, while the end caps 28 are shown as includingcup-shaped bodies, the end caps 28 can have a different configuration(e.g., the end caps 28 can be shaped to be press fit into the housing22). One or both of the end caps 28 can additionally include electriccomponents, such as a rectifier and filter.

The LEDs 26 can be surface-mount devices, though other types of LEDs canalternatively be used. For example, although surface-mounted LEDs 26 areshown, one or more organic LEDs can be used in place of or in additionthereto. The LEDs 26 can be mounted to the circuit board 24 by solder, asnap-fit connection, or other means. The LEDs 26 can produce whitelight. However, LEDs that produce blue light, ultra-violet light orother wavelengths of light can be used in place of white light emittingLEDs 26. The number of LEDs 26 can be a function of the desired power ofthe light 16 and the power of the LEDs 26. For a 48″ light, such as thelight 16, the number of LEDs 26 can vary from about five to four hundredsuch that the light 16 outputs approximately 500 to 3,000 lumens.However, a different number of LEDs 26 can alternatively be used, andthe light 16 can output a different amount of lumens. The LEDs 26 can beevenly spaced along the circuit board 24, and the spacing of the LEDs 26can be determined based on, for example, the light distribution of eachLED 26 and the number of LEDs 26.

The controller 18 can include a memory and a CPU for executing a programstored on the memory. The controller 18 receives data from sensorlocated in the light 40 or external to the light 40. The sensor caninclude a motion sensor, a sensor for determining whether a door isajar, a sensor for determining when a keypad or other type of lock isactuated, a voice-activated sensor, a clock or calendar, an ambientlight sensor, a power supply monitor, and/or another type of sensor. Thesensor can include multiple types of sensors for detecting differenttypes of activities (e.g., the sensor can include a clock and a motionsensor). Additionally, the sensor can include multiple sensors indifferent rooms or spaces of the building. In operation, the sensor canperform detection and, in response, send the detection signal α to thecontroller 18. The detection signal can indicate whether the building isin an occupied state or an unoccupied state. For example, if the sensorincludes a motion detector, the sensor can send the detection signal tothe controller 18 to indicate the building is in the occupied state whenmotion is detected. The sensor can continuously send the detectionsignal to the controller 18, or the sensor can send the detection signalonly when a positive detection (e.g., an indication that the building isin the occupied state) occurs. The detection signal α can also indicatethat the building is in the unoccupied state when, for example, apredetermined amount of time has passed since a positive detection lastoccurred, or when the sensor 20 includes a clock and the time is pastnormal working hours. Also, the detection signal α can include signalsfrom multiple types of sensors making up the sensor, such as avoice-activated sensor, a motion sensor, and a clock. If the controller18 receives signals from multiple sensors in different locations, thedetection signal can include a location of the detection (e.g., aspecific room or area of the building).

The light can communicate data at broadband speed. Broadband intelecommunications refers to a signaling method that includes or handlesa relatively wide range (or band) of frequencies. Broadband is always arelative term, understood according to its context. The wider (orbroader) the bandwidth of a channel, the greater theinformation-carrying capacity, given the same channel quality. In radio,for example, a very narrow-band signal will carry Morse code; a broaderband will carry speech; a still broader band is required to carry musicwithout losing the high audio frequencies required for realistic soundreproduction. This broad band is often divided into channels orfrequency bins using passband techniques to allow frequency-divisionmultiplexing, instead of sending one higher-quality signal. A televisionantenna described as “broadband” may be capable of receiving a widerange of channels; while a single-frequency or Lo-VHF antenna is“narrowband” since it only receives 1 to 5 channels. For example, indata communications a 56 k modem will transmit a data rate of 56kilobits per second (kbit/s) over a 4 kilohertz wide telephone line(narrowband or voiceband). The various forms of Digital Subscriber Line(DSL) services are broadband in the sense that digital information issent over a high-bandwidth channel. This channel is at higher frequencythan the baseband voice channel, so it can support plain old telephoneservice on a single pair of wires at the same time. However when thatsame line is converted to a non-loaded twisted-pair wire (no telephonefilters), it becomes hundreds of kilohertz wide (broadband) and cancarry several megabits per second using very-high-bitrate digitalsubscriber line (VDSL) techniques. In one embodiment, broadband impliesat least the speed of WiFi, cable modem, or DSL transmission speed asopposed to the data speed of a conventional TV remote controller.

The controller 18 can run a tunneling protocol where one networkprotocol (the delivery protocol) encapsulates a different payloadprotocol. By using tunneling one can (for example) carry a payload overan incompatible delivery-network, or provide a secure path through anuntrusted network. Tunneling typically contrasts with a layered protocolmodel such as those of OSI or TCP/IP. The delivery protocol usually (butnot always) operates at a higher level in the model than does thepayload protocol, or at the same level. Tunneling protocols may use dataencryption to transport insecure payload protocols over a public network(such as the Internet), thereby providing VPN functionality. IPsec hasan end-to-end Transport Mode, but can also operate in a tunneling modethrough a trusted security gateway.

Another implementation of the optical network communicates through asecure shell (SSH) tunnel. SSH tunnel consists of an encrypted tunnelcreated through a SSH protocol connection. Users may set up SSH tunnelsto transfer unencrypted traffic over a network through an encryptedchannel. For example, Microsoft Windows machines can share files usingthe Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, a non-encrypted protocol. Ifone were to mount a Microsoft Windows file-system remotely through theInternet, someone snooping on the connection could see transferredfiles. To mount the Windows file-system securely, one can establish anSSH tunnel that routes all SMB traffic to the remote fileserver throughan encrypted channel. Even though the SMB protocol itself contains noencryption, the encrypted SSH channel through which it travels offerssecurity. To set up an SSH tunnel, one configures an SSH client toforward a specified local port to a port on the remote machine. Once theSSH tunnel has been established, the user can connect to the specifiedlocal port to access the network service. The local port need not havethe same port number as the remote port. SSH tunnels provide a means tobypass firewalls that prohibit certain Internet services—so long as asite allows outgoing connections. For example, an organization mayprohibit a user from accessing Internet web pages (port 80) directlywithout passing through the organization's proxy filter (which providesthe organization with a means of monitoring and controlling what theuser sees through the web). But users may not wish to have their webtraffic monitored or blocked by the organization's proxy filter. Ifusers can connect to an external SSH server, they can create an SSHtunnel to forward a given port on their local machine to port 80 on aremote web-server. To access the remote web-server, users would pointtheir browser to the local port at http://localhost/. Some SSH clientssupport dynamic port forwarding that allows the user to create a SOCKS4/5 proxy. In this case users can configure their applications to usetheir local SOCKS proxy server. This gives more flexibility thancreating an SSH tunnel to a single port as previously described. SOCKScan free the user from the limitations of connecting only to apredefined remote port and server. If an application doesn't supportSOCKS, one can use a “socksifier” to redirect the application to thelocal SOCKS proxy server. Some “socksifiers” support SSH directly, thusavoiding the need for an SSH client.

In one embodiment, the controller 18 tunnels with BACnet, a buildingautomation and networking protocol for building automation, to fullysupport BACnet over Optical Building Automation networks. The light withoptical communication extends wired BACnet-based building systems to newareas in a convenient and low cost manner.

In operation, the controller 18 can control the function of the HVACsystem 12 and the light 16 in response to the detection signal, such aswhen the detection signal indicates the building state has changed fromthe occupied state to the unoccupied state and vice versa. For example,the controller 18 can output a control signal to turn on the HVAC system12 and the light 16 in response to a detection signal indicating thebuilding is in the occupied state, and the controller 18 can output thecontrol signal to turn off the HVAC system 12 and the light 16 inresponse to an indication that the building is in the unoccupied state.

As another example of operation of the smart building system 10, if thesensor 20 includes a power supply monitor, the detection signal α canindicate an amount of power used by the building or certain systems ofthe building (e.g., an amount of power used in the aggregate by the HVACsystem 12 and the light 16). Alternatively, instead of receiving thedetection signal α expressly indicating an amount of power used by thebuilding, the controller 18 can estimate the building power usage basedon, e.g., the time of day if the sensor 20 includes a clock, the time ofyear if the sensor 20 includes a calendar, the number of areas of thebuilding occupied, and/or other considerations. That is, the estimatecan be based on assumptions such as the building using less power atnight, the building using more power during cold weather, the buildingusing more power when heavily occupied, and other assumptions.

The controller 18 can analyze the power consumption of the building todetermine the control signal. For example, when the power consumption ishigh (e.g., above a predetermined amount), the controller 18 can reducean amount of power provided to the light 16, thereby dimming the light16. As another example, the controller 18 can determine or estimatewhich spaces of the building are occupied, and only provide light tothose areas (or not reduce light to those areas) during times of highpower consumption. The controller 18 can allow occupants to override thecontrol signal β if the amount of light provided by the light 16 is notdeemed appropriate by occupants. Similarly, the controller 18 cancontrol the HVAC system 12 based on the power consumption of thebuilding, such as by allowing the temperature in unoccupied areas of thebuilding to increase or decrease.

Thus, as explained in various examples above, the control signal can besolely based on, partially based on, or not based on whether thebuilding is in the occupied state or unoccupied state. Among otheradvantages, the smart building system 10 can allow for energy efficientoperation of the HVAC system 12 and the light 16 as explained in variousexamples above. Additionally, the controller 18 can control operation ofthe HVAC system 12 and light 16 without effort by occupants of thebuilding, such as by eliminating the need for occupants to turn thelight 16 on or off upon entering and exiting the an area of thebuilding. The controller 18 can also control the HVAC system 12 and/orlight 16 based on the power drawn by the building to, for example,reduce the power consumption of the HVAC system 12 and/or light 16during times of high power consumption.

The usefulness of embodiments of the present invention is illustrated,for example, by smoke alarm. Since it is optically enabled, it canbroadcast to the controller 18 the existence of a fire. The location ofthe smoke alarm will preferably be stored, so the location and existenceare both immediately known. Since the whole network is aware of the siteof the fire, the nearest personnel can implement evacuation plans.Likewise, public address system can immediately direct traffic in theevent of an emergency. A camera provides video feed of the activity in agiven room, thus enhancing security. If audio and/or video is enabled,through one or more personal communications badges or separatewall-mounted cameras, the video can be used to capture the last-knownconditions of a user or an area. This can be important in the event adisaster that results in significant destruction of property or life.Monitoring of thermostat by the network allows the temperature of a roomto be controlled according to various factors such as outdoortemperature, building temperature, and the number of occupants. Thuscommunication, security, and energy/building management are vastlyimproved through the optical transmitter and receiver of the opticalnetwork.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary light 40 with optical communicationcapability. The light 40 can include a controller 32 mounted on thecircuit board 24. The controller 32 can include a CPU and a memorystoring a program to be executed by the CPU, and the controller 32 canbe in communication with the LEDs 26 via the circuit board 24 or byother means (e.g., wires separate from the circuit board 24). Also,while the light 40 is shown and described as being shaped forcompatibility with a fluorescent tube accepting fixture, the light 40can have an alternative shape, such as an incandescent bulb or anothertype of light, and can use alternative sources of light, such as anincandescent, fluorescent, or halogen light. The light 40 can include areceiver 34 mounted on the circuit board 24. The sensors 20 can be incommunication with a transmitter (not shown) for transmitting thedetection signal α to the receiver 34. For example, the receiver 34 canbe in communication with the transmitter using a standard wirelessprotocol (e.g., a radio standard, a cellular standard such as 3G,Bluetooth, or WiFi). The receiver 34 can alternatively be incommunication with the transmitter in another manner such as hardwiringor via electric signals sent through the end caps 28. The receiver 34can also be in communication with the controller 32 (e.g., thecontroller 32 and receiver 34 can communicate via the circuit board 24,or the controller 32 and receiver 34 can be an integral unit), allowingthe receiver 34 to communicate the detection signal to the controller32. The controller 32 can control the LEDs 26 in response to thedetection signal α detected by the sensors 20 similar to the controller18 controlling the light 16. Since the receiver 34 can be wireless, thelight 30 can be installed in a standard fluorescent fixture as easily asa normal fluorescent tube. A sensor 36 mounted on the circuit board 24can include a motion sensor, a voice-activated sensor, a clock orcalendar, an ambient light sensor, and/or another type of sensor. Thesensor 36 can include multiple types of sensors for detecting differenttypes of activities (e.g., the sensor 36 can include a clock and amotion sensor). The sensor 36 can be in communication the controller 32via the circuit board 24 or by other means, such as being hard wired tothe controller 32 or formed integrally with the controller 32. The light40 can additionally include a transmitter 38 for communicating by way ofa standard wireless protocol or other means (e.g., hardwiring) to aremote location, such as a smart building control center. Thetransmitter 38 can be in communication with the sensor 36 via thecircuit board or by other means, such as being hard wired to the sensor36 or formed integrally with the sensor 36.

In operation, the sensor 36 can perform detection and, in response, sendthe detection signal to the controller 32. The controller 32 can performat least one of a variety of functions in response to the detectionsignal. The controller 32 can control the LEDs 26 based on whether thearea of the building in which the light 40 is located is occupied orunoccupied. For example, a motion sensor portion of the sensor 36 canindicate whether the area of the building in which the light 40 islocated is occupied, and the controller 32 can turn the LEDs 26 on oroff (or otherwise control the LEDs 26) based on the detection signal.The light transmitter 38 allows the light 40 to communicate thedetection signal to a remote location, such as a smart building controlcenter that can control operation of other building systems (e.g., anHVAC system). Thus, the detection signal α picked up by the sensor 36can be used as an input to control portions of a smart building otherthan the light 40. As an example, if the sensor 36 includes a motiondetector, a smart building control center can alter the control of anHVAC system when the sensor 36 indicates a predetermined amount of timehas passed since motion was last detected.

The light 40 can also include a light receiver 34. Including the lightreceiver 34 allows the controller 32 of the light 40 to control the LEDs26 based on signals picked up from sensors outside the light 40, such asa power supply sensor or a remote ambient light sensor (though anambient light sensor integral with the light 40 can alternatively oradditionally be used). The controller 32 can control the LEDs 26 in thelight 40 based on, for example, a low power availability indicationtransmitted to the receiver 34. Thus, the controller 32 can reduce thepower consumption of the LEDs 26 during times that the building is usinga large amount of power, when a generator is providing power, or atother times during which power should be conserved.

While the light 40 is shown as being compatible with standard sizedfluorescent fixtures, an LED-based light having another shape, such asan incandescent bulb or another type of light, can alternatively beused. Also, other types of light sources, such as fluorescent orincandescent based light sources, can be used instead of the LEDs 26.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an exemplary LED light bulb with opticalcommunication and smart capability is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the LEDlight bulb 110 includes a lens 121, which may typically be formed ofplastic. A center housing 125 also operating as a heat sink is provided.An LED printed circuit board (PCB) sub-assembly 123 including pluralLEDs is mounted to the center housing 125 with a gasket lens 124therebetween by plural screws 122. The gasket lens 124 is not a requiredelement when assembling the LED PCB sub-assembly 123. The gasket lens124 goes around the outside edge of the LED PCB sub-assembly 123 and isprovided to create a seal between the lens 121 and the housing 125. Thelens 121 is then fit over the LED PCB sub-assembly 123 and can beadhesively secured to the center housing 125. The lens 121 can bemechanically secured to the housing 125 by, for example, a crimpingoperation in which the top edge of the housing 125 is curled over a lipof the lens 121. Such a lens assembly can be a last operation inassembling the overall light bulb 110. Such an operation assists indesigning options in lens profiles depending on customer requirements.The center housing 125 is then connected to a lower housing 128 througha housing gasket 126. The lower housing 128 is then secured onto thebase 129. The base 129 is configured to fit into an electrical socket.

The center housing 125 can preferably be a finished aluminum partdesigned to dissipate heat away from the LED PCB sub-assembly 123. Thehousing 125 is designed to work with the lens 121 profile and the lowerhousing 128 for assembly purposes. Such a layout allows fittingdifferent types of LED technologies without having to change othercomponents.

A power supply printed circuit board (PCB) sub-assembly 127 is alsoprovided to fit into the lower housing 128. The power supply PCBsub-assembly 127 includes electrical connections to connect with the LEDPCB sub-assembly 23 to supply power to the LEDs on the LED PCBsub-assembly 123.

The center housing 125 can operate as a heat sink to thereby allow theuse of plural currently available LEDs to be mounted on the LED PCBsub-assembly 123. Further, the LED PCB sub-assembly 123 is essentiallyonly one module of the entire light bulb 110. As a result, the LED PCBsub-assembly 123 can be easily modified to be varied for differentdesired applications and to suit new LED technology as it becomesavailable. That is, as the separate LED PCB sub-assembly 123 is asub-element with the noted structure, it is easy to modify thatsub-assembly 123 in terms of, for example, the LEDs mounted thereon,without changing the size, shape, etc. of the LED PCB sub-assembly 123so that it can still be fit into the same existing LED light bulb 110.Since the LED PCB sub-assembly 123 is a simple modular element, it canbe designed to mix different color LEDs for different particularapplications as selected by different customers. Such different LED PCBsub-assemblies 123 can then easily and economically be manufactured intothe same LED light bulb 110. Further, by utilizing a lower housing 128as a modular element, that lower housing 128 can be changed to achievedifferent height requirements in different light bulbs. As the lens 121is also only a sub-assembly component of the overall light bulb 110, thelens 121 can be changed in its shape, material, etc., to suit differentrequirements.

Different options can be easily manufactured by merely changing an LEDprinted circuit board sub-assembly as one element of the overall lightbulb. Such manufacturing flexibility can significantly enhance the coststructure, design time, manufacturing flexibility, etc. of manufacturingan LED light bulb.

In one embodiment, a speaker can be added to the bulb. Music can betransmitted from a digital source, such as a PC or iPod, to an Edisonscrew type screw-in bulb that combines a 20 watt speaker with a 10 wattLED lamp. A music source is plugged into the included transmitter, and aremote is used to both dim the lights and control the sending of thestereo signal to pairs of speakers. The transmitter can control up tofour pairs of speakers, and send two different streams of music to them.

In one embodiment, the system can track position of a badge wearer. Thewearer can be an elderly person at home so that they can be assisted ifneeded. In one embodiment, each light is mapped to an indoor position.As the wearer moves around, each light communicates with a transceiveron the badge and provides the badge with a local coordinate. The badgeand/or the light above the badge then reports the indoor position of theperson to a computer that tracks the movement of the wearer and otherdaily activities of life.

FIG. 4 shows exemplary control electronics for the LED lighting andoptical communication. The processor provides intelligent lighting whichis the ability to reduce the amount of light and/or energy used so thatonly the right amount of light is delivered exactly where it is needed.Digitally controlled lighting using microcontrollers (MCUs) takeadvantage of the unique characteristics of LEDs and other light sourcesto develop efficient, scalable and flexible designs for intelligentlighting. With digital control, hardware features, such as soft startup,delay and PWM phase shifting, can be implemented in software,eliminating extra components, cost and complexity. The processor hascommunications and control solutions that can handle wired and wirelesssystems, supporting a wide selection of communication standards.

In one embodiment, an optical data communications receiver receives dataencoded using optical pulse position. The receiver can include anoptical signal reception device; a reference signal memory for storing areference channel response signal; and a correlator coupled to thereference signal memory and to the optical signal reception device forcorrelating a received optical pulse with the stored reference channelresponse signal to determine the optical pulse position; and an outputcoupled to the correlator to provide pulse position data for thereceived optical pulse. The receiver can facilitate substantialreduction in the effect of multipath reflections, either in free spaceor in a “wired” connection such as a passive optical network (PON).Embodiments of the above described receiver are also useful inmitigating the effects of pulse smearing which arise in multimodeoptical fibres. Depending upon the receiving system in which thereceiver is used the pulse position data may comprise hard decision dataor soft data, for example for a Viterbi or similar channel decodingsystem.

In some preferred embodiments the receiver includes a reference signalacquisition system to determine a reference channel response signal froma received signal. This may, for example, detect a known trainingpattern in the header of a data packet and may optionally de-convolvethis prior to storage. However in embodiments a digitised waveshape of areceived reference signal is stored in the reference signal memory forcorrelation with the received signal, optionally oversampling around theexpected location of a pulse.

Infrared data communications systems are generally point-to-point but,in embodiments, the reference signal memory stores a plurality ofreference signals each corresponding to a different IR (infrared)transmitter, optionally a transmitter (transceiver) identifier beingstored together with the reference signal. In this way a reference for aparticular transmitter may be selected according to from whichtransmitter signals are being received and/or reference signals may beselected on a time-multiplexed basis.

In order to extract more energy from the received signal and to bettermitigate the effects of multipath preferably the reference channelresponse signal comprises a plurality of multipath components. Theenvironment in which the receiver is to operate may be known in advance,for example office, home, optical fiber network, or a user register maybe provided for selecting an operating environment. In some environmentsmultipath reflections may persist for a long period of time relative tothe pulse duration (which may be less than 10 ns or less than 1 ns) andtherefore, in embodiments, the reference signal memory has a datastructure which allows a channel response signal to be defined as aplurality of multipath components each separated by a delay—for examplepulse shapes for the separate multipath components separated by dataindicating time intervals between the multipath components. A receivercontroller may be provided to determine the reference signal data fromthe digitized received signal and to write this into the referencesignal memory. It will be appreciated that in some environments themultipath components of one pulse might arrive after a direct pathcomponent of the next pulse—for example pulses may be transmitted attime intervals in the range 1 ns to 10 ns or 100 ns whereas multipathcomponents of a transmitted pulse may continue to be received at adetectable level for longer time intervals. Preferably, therefore, thecorrelator includes storage for a partial correlation result in order tobe able to re-use the correlator and thus correlate interleavedmultipath components (which include the direct path component) byswitching the correlator to accumulate partial correlation values forone pulse or the next depending upon the transmitted pulse to which areceived pulse component belongs. Preferably such a receiver alsoincludes a pattern generator to control the reference signal memory toprovide such interleaved multipath components (of a stored referencesignal) for correlation with interleaved multipath components ofsuccessively transmitted IR pulses. To facilitate rapid detection ofwhat might be weak or very weak pulses preferably the correlator isconfigured to effectively implement multiple correlators in parallelover a transmission frame. In practice, as described further below, theexpected pulse position is known, at least within a range, and thus thetotal effective number of correlators may be reduced.

Preferably, therefore, the correlator is configured to correlate, withina time window, a plurality of samples of the received optical pulse witha plurality of samples of the stored reference channel response signal.Thus, preferably, the reference channel response signal is stored inmultiported memory to provide a plurality of successively delayedversions of the reference signal, preferably overlapping in time.Preferably a plurality of such correlators is implemented, coupled tothe reference signal memory and to the signal reception device at aplurality of successive respective relative delays (between the receivedoptical signal and the reference), to determine the position (in time)of an optical pulse.

In some particularly preferred embodiments a whitening function isemployed to apply a pseudorandom pulse position modulation to atransmitted pulse, the receiver thus further comprising a pseudorandomsequence generator arranged so that it can be synchronized to thetransmitter. Preferably the “whitening” modulation is greater than the(information) data modulation to facilitate decoding. The decodingprocess may efficiently be performed by locating one or more correlatorsat the expected position of a pulse as determined from the pseudorandomsequence, the precise position of the pulse determining the modulated(information) data.

Thus in a related aspect an optical data communications receiver forreceiving data encoded using optical pulse position includes an opticalsignal reception device; a correlator coupled to the optical signalreception device for determining a received optical pulse position; anoutput coupled to the correlator to provide pulse position data for thereceived optical pulse; and wherein the optical pulse position ismodulated by a pseudorandom sequence, the receiver further comprising apseudorandom sequence generator for tracking the pseudorandommodulation.

In another aspect an optical data communications transmitter is used fortransmitting data encoded using optical pulse position, the transmitterincluding a pseudorandom sequence generator for imposing a pseudorandomspreading code on the pulse positions encoding the data fortransmitting.

The controller can run UWB encode/decode operations that include:inputting data to be transmitted; pulse position modulating the dataonto an optical signal; sending the optical signal to an opticalreceiver; receiving the optical signal at the receiver; and demodulatingthe received optical data; and spreading the modulated pulse positionsaccording to a pseudorandom sequence to reduce susceptibility of thecommunicated data to systematic noise.

The optical data communications system can include an output for data tobe transmitted; a pulse position modulator for pulse position modulatingthe data onto an optical signal; an optical transmitter to transmit theoptical signal; an optical receiver to receive the transmitted opticalsignal; and a demodulator for demodulating the received optical data torecover the transmitted data; and wherein the system further comprises aspreader for spreading the modulated pulse positions according to apseudorandom sequence to reduce susceptibility of the communicated datato systematic noise. Whitening the transmitted data provides a number ofadvantages; importantly a reduction in the sensitivity of the receiverto internal or external systematic noise such as might arise fromdigital circuitry and/or fluorescent lighting. Preferably the receiverpseudorandom sequence generator is coupled to one or both of thereference signal memory and correlator for correlating the receivedoptical pulse with the stored reference channel response signal atpositions in time determined by the pseudorandom sequence. Inembodiments the correlator (which may include multiple instances ofcorrelation hardware and/or time-multiplexed hardware) correlates in twoor more of these positions in parallel, preferably at least in positionscorresponding to the two possible values of an encoded bit (here bitreferring to a “raw” bit of data sent over the channel, and overallsystem typically including some form of channel encoding/decoding overthis). For example, at, say, the 57th frame a bit may be expected at the13th or at the 39th discrete time interval within the frame).Synchronization data for a pseudorandom sequence such as a sequenceidentifier and/or sequence seed may be provided to the receiver in anunwhitened packet header. It will be recognized that, in embodiments,one or both of the sequence identifier and sequence seed may be fixed orpredetermined.

The optical data communications receiver can include a receiver frontend including an optical signal reception device coupled to ananalogue-to-digital (A/D) converter to digitize an optical signalreceived by the optical signal reception device; and a correlatorcoupled to the A/D converter to correlate the digitized received opticalsignal with a reference to decode the received optical signal. In orderto operate a UWB-type receiver system with an optical signal receptiondevice the front end is preferably configured to implement a peak detectfunction for the reception device. Thus whereas in a radio system thefront end A/D is preferably centered on a mid-point of an input receivedwaveform (for example by keeping statistics on maximum and minimumvalues and adjusting a DC offset to a zero/mid-position). In an opticalsystem the A/D is run with an offset from zero so that the front end ofthe receiver in effect provides a peak-detect. More generally, the A/Dconverter has a non-linear conversion function so that the digitaloutput value is a non-linear function of the analogue input. A multibitA/D converter may be employed but in some preferred embodiments a singlebit A/D converter is used. In such a case the zero/one threshold may bedisplaced from a mid or zero-crossing position to implement the peakdetect. Optionally the one (or more) bit sample may be squared toprovide an energy detect function input to the UWB receiver processing.Optionally the receiver front end may also include a received signallevel adjuster to adjust an input signal (level) to theanalogue-to-digital converter, in particular in response to thereference channel response signal and/or statistics gathered on thereceived signal. In a further related aspect, therefore, the inventionprovides an optical data communications receiver, the receivercomprising: an optical signal reception device having an output; and aUWB receiver system coupled to the output of the optical signalreception device. Transmitters, receivers and corresponding methods asdescribed above may advantageously be employed in free space opticalcommunications such as in-room infrared broadcast communications and inpassive optical networks, for example point-to-multipoint (PONs).

In an optical communications system based upon a multiband-type UWBreceiver one or more optical channels may be defined using one or moreOFDM bands. An optical mesh network can be used with the light bulbs orlight tubes. A plurality of optical transceivers can be used where eachthe transceiver includes an optical data communications transmitterconfigured to modulate data to be transmitted onto an optical output ofthe transceiver and an optical data communications receiver configuredto receive an optical signal and to demodulate the received signal torecover transmitted data, and wherein transmitter is configured tospread the transmitted data using a pseudorandom sequence, and whereinthe receiver in configured to despread the received optical signal torecover the transmitted data.

In embodiments of the network when one transceiver is out of range ofanother communication takes place via one or more intermediarytransceivers. Thus preferably a transceiver includes a controller forautomatically establishing a link with another transceiver. Preferably,therefore, a routing table is stored linking incoming data on onechannel with outgoing data on a second channel so that each transceiverneed only be locally aware of a next transceiver (or destination) towhich data should be sent. Preferably this routing table stores anidentifier that uniquely identifies a path through the network to adestination for a data packet. When a transceiver initially connects tothe network a unique identifier such as a device name and/or address maybe broadcast to other transceivers (nodes) within range forconfiguration of a local routing table, and forwarded by these nodes toother nodes within the network to make the network (transceivers)generally aware of the new connection. Dormant connections in therouting table may be effectively deleted after a dormant time intervalhas elapsed. A channel may be used for bi-directional, for examplehalf-duplex communication or separate channels may be used for forwardand reverse connections between pairs of nodes.

Free space optical data transmissions is not necessarily limited toline-of-sight communications, particularly when embodiments of the abovedescribed technique are employed to provide sensitive detection of noisyoptical pulses and/or pulses in the presence of background noise.However, in some environments such as home environments with opticallyopaque partition walls, it is desirable to be able to provide analternative communications technique which is similarly capable ofoperating at very high data rates. To solve this issue, the light bulbor tube can include a dual-capability transceiver system for networking,the transceiver having dual optical/UWB data communication capability,the transceiver including: an interface for optical emitter/detector; aninterface for rf emitter/detector; and a UWB signal processor coupled tothe rf emitter/detector interface for sending and receiving radiofrequency (rf) UWB transmissions and having UWB signal processinghardware for processing received UWB transmissions to retrievecommunicated data; and wherein the optical emitter/detector interfaceshares at least a portion of the UWB signal processing hardware forprocessing received optical transmissions to retrieve opticallycommunicated data. By providing both high speed optical and high speedUWB communications links embodiments of the device may have greaterflexibility. In embodiments sharing the UWB signal processing hardwareenables high speed data communications over both optical and UWB links,for example in excess of 100 Mbps, 500 Mbps or 1 Gbps. The opticalemitter/detector may comprise, for example, a laser diode and a pin oravalanche diode detector; the rf emitter/detector may comprise a simplerf antenna or a near-field coupling device as described, for example, inthe applicant's GB0428046.7 of 22 Dec. 2004, and related applications.In embodiments, depending upon the optical emitter/detector employed andupon any optional interfaced circuitry used, a common interface may beprovided for optical and rf communications. An infrared channel canprovide a secure method for sending a security key to a UWB receiver, asdescribed in US 2004/0264701, the content of which is incorporated byreference.

In all of the above described receivers, transmitters, methods andnetwork the optical signal is not restricted to visible wavelengths and,in particular, preferred embodiments employ infrared (IR) signals,typically at wavelengths longer than 700 nm, for free spacetransmissions avoiding water absorption regions and for fibertransmissions generally (but not necessarily) in a fibertelecommunications band such as O, E, S, C, L or U-band (approximately1200 nm to 1700 nm). In embodiments of the above described receivers,transmitters, networks, methods and transceivers the communicatedoptical data can reach a rate of more than 100 Mbps, preferably morethan 500 Mbps or 1 Gbps.

FIG. 5 illustrates by block diagram an electrical schematic of acommunications network. Incoming/Outgoing BPL communication 3201 isprovided through a wire from a remote BPL transceiver. This is theshared electrical circuit. A Broadband-over-Power-Line (BPL) transceiver3202 is provided to receive and transmit data from/to the BPL enabledelectrical circuit. The particular interface implemented may vary.Currently a number of existing interfaces could be used, such asUniversal Serial Bus (USB), Ethernet, Media Independent Interface (MII),etc, and the particular choice of interface could further depend on theBPL transceiver used, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

A micro-controller, microprocessor, ASIC or the like 3203 is providedfor program control that can transmit/receive data to/from BPLcommunication network 3201 through BPL transceiver 3202. Microprocessor3203 in an embodiment may respond to commands received on this network3201 to manipulate enable circuitry 3204, and may also issue commands orsend data to network 3201 if needed. If the transmit portion of enablecircuitry 3204 is enabled, these commands/data will also be passed tothe optical link.

Enable circuitry 3204, through driver circuitry 3205, may in oneembodiment be enabled to turn on or off the LED optical transmitters3102, 3104, as well as change the characteristics of the light, such asbrightness and even color mix when multicolor LEDs are used. This isuseful for things such as an annunciator light or emergency light, whichmay provide a visual indicator for things such as tornado, lock-down,fire, movement, etc. Enable circuitry 3204 may also manipulate theability for BPL communication network 3201 to send and/or receive dataat this clock to or from the optical link.

Driver circuitry 3205 and LED(s) 3206 will pass any signals to theoptical link for other devices. Driver circuitry 3205 may, in thepreferred embodiment, simply be appropriate buffering, isolation,modulation or amplification circuitry which will provide appropriatevoltage and power to adequately drive LED emitter 3206 into producing avisible light transmission. Exemplary of common driver circuits areoperational amplifiers (Op-amps) and transistor amplifiers, though thoseskilled in the art of signal conditioning will recognize many optionalcircuits and components which might optionally be used in conjunctionwith the present invention. Also, it may be desirable to use amodulation scheme with the signal. The transmit circuitry may have toprovide a means of modulation in this case, also preferably incorporatedinto driver circuitry 3205. The type of modulation will be decided usingknown considerations at the time of design, selected for exemplarypurposes from FM, AM, PPM, PDM, PWM, OFDM, and QAM.

Similar to but preferably complementary with the transmission circuitry,receiver circuitry 3207 receives data from the optical link detected byphoto sensor 3208. Receiver circuitry 3207 will appropriately condition,and may further convert a data-bearing electrical signal. As but oneexample of such conversion, receiver circuitry 3207 may additionallydemodulate a data-bearing electrical signal, if the data stream has beenmodulated by an optical host. Suitable buffering, amplification andother conditioning may be provided to yield a received data signal.

In one embodiment, LED 3206 may be illuminated as a night light at lowpower. Where properly enabled with battery back-up or the like, thepreferred embodiment communications such as illustrated in the Figuresmay further provide communications and emergency lighting in the eventof a power failure.

In an embodiment of the invention, an intelligent audio/visualobservation and identification database system may also be coupled tosensors as disposed about a building, relying upon the presentcommunications system transmitting over the synchronization wire of aclock system. The system may then build a database with respect totemperature sensors within specific locations, pressure sensors, motiondetectors, communications badges, phone number identifiers, soundtransducers, and/or smoke or fire detectors. Recorded data as receivedfrom various sensors may be used to build a database for normalparameters and environmental conditions for specific zones of astructure for individual periods of time and dates. A computer maycontinuously receive readings/data from remote sensors for comparison tothe pre-stored or learned data to identify discrepancies therebetween.In addition, filtering, flagging and threshold procedures may beimplemented to indicate a threshold discrepancy to signal an officer toinitiate an investigation. The reassignment of priorities and thestorage and recognition of the assigned priorities occurs at thecomputer to automatically recalibrate the assignment of points or flagsfor further comparison to a profile prior to the triggering of a signalrepresentative of a threshold discrepancy.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem may also be coupled to various infrared or ultraviolet sensors,in addition to the optical sensors incorporated directly into LEDoptical transmitters and optical detectors, and used forsecurity/surveillance within a structure to assist in the earlyidentification of an unauthorized individual within a security zone orthe presence of an intruder without knowledge of the intruder.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem as coupled to sensors and/or building control systems for abuilding which may be based upon audio, temperature, motion, pressure,phone number identifiers, smoke detectors, fire detectors and firealarms is based upon automatic storage, retrieval and comparison ofobserved/measured data to prerecorded data, in further comparison to thethreshold profile parameters to automatically generate a signal to asurveillance, security, or law enforcement officer.

The optical link does not interfere with existing communication systemslike those that are common today. Consequently, the preferred embodimentmay be used in a variety of applications where prior art systems weresimply unable due to EMI/RFI considerations.

Set-up, testing, troubleshooting and the like are also vastlysimplified. When the light communication system is working, the user canactually see the illumination. If an object interferes with lighttransmission, the user will again immediately recognize the same. Thus,the ease and convenience of this light system adds up to greatermobility and less cost. In addition, relatively high energy outputs maybe provided where desired using the preferred visible lightcommunications channel, since the human eye is adapted andwell-protected against damage from light. In contrast, many invisibletransmission techniques such as Ultraviolet (UV) or Infra-Red (IR)systems have much potential for harm.

A host lamp fixture system may replace stationary (mounted in aparticular place) lighting fixtures in order to communicate data. Insideof LED lights there may be one or many dies; these may pulsate onslightly different frequencies from a single light to communicate. Eachmay be looking for changes by way of Multiple Channel Access or othersuitable technique.

The LED signal light can provide systematic information transfer throughencrypted pulsed light (hereinafter SIT-TEL) communication system whichmay be depicted in several embodiments. Any reference to a SIT-TELcommunication herein is perceived to be equivalent to, and/or the sameas, a general reference to pulsed light communication. In general, thesignal light and SIT-TEL pulsed light communication system may be formedof a single row, single source, or an array of light emitting diodelight sources configured on a light support and in electricalcommunication with a controller and a power supply, battery, or otherelectrical source. The signal light and SIT-TEL pulsed lightcommunication system may provide various light signals, colored lightsignals, or combination or patterns of light signals for use inassociation with the communication of information. These light signalsmay also be encoded. Additionally, the signal light and SIT-TEL pulsedlight communication system may be capable of displaying symbols,characters, or arrows. Rotating and oscillating light signals may beproduced by sequentially illuminating columns of LEDs on a stationarylight support in combination with the provision of variable lightintensity from the controller. However, the signal light and SIT-TELpulsed light communication system may also be rotated or oscillated viamechanical means. The signal light and SIT-TEL pulsed lightcommunication system may also be easily transportable and may beconveniently connected to a stand such as a tripod for electricalcoupling to a power supply, battery, or other electrical source as aremote stand-alone signaling or communication device.

The signal light and SIT-TEL pulsed light communication system may beelectrically coupled to a controller used to modulate, pulse, or encode,the light generated from the light sources to provide for variouspatterns or types of illumination to transmit messages.

Individual light supports as a portion of the SIT-TEL communicationsystem may be positioned adjacent to, and/or be in electricalcommunication with another light support, through the use of suitableelectrical connections. Alternatively, individual light supports may bein communication with each other exclusively through the transmissionand receipt of pulsed light signals.

A plurality of light supports or solitary light sources may beelectrically coupled in either a parallel or series manner to acontroller. The controller is also preferably in electricalcommunication with the power supply and the LEDs, to regulate ormodulate the light intensity for the LED light sources. The individualLEDs and/or arrays of LEDs may be used for transmission of communicationpackets formed of light signals.

The controller for the LED light support may generate and/or recognizepulsed light signals used to communicate information. The LED lightsystem may also include a receptor coupled to the controller, where thereceptor is constructed and arranged for receipt of pulsed LED lightsignals for conversion to digital information, and for transfer of thedigital information to the controller for analysis and interpretation.The controller may then issue a light signal or other communicationsignal to an individual to communicate the content of receivedinformation transmitted via a pulsed LED light carrier.

In one communications application, two unsynchronized transceiversphase-lock to each other and exchange pulse-width-modulated databi-directionally. In this protocol, the two receivers take turns tooperate in transmit and receive mode, and a relatively short light pulseindicates a 0 or space state, and a relatively long light pulseindicates a 1 or mark state. This protocol starts in an idle cycle withthe transceiver performing an idling cycle. In the idle cycle, thetransceiver transmits a one millisecond light pulse followed by a fourmillisecond receive period. During the receive period, the transceiverexecutes multiple light measurements. These light measurements provideonly a one bit of resolution, i.e., whether the incoming light flux isabove or below a predetermined threshold, nominally about 1.5V. Theidling cycle continues until at least two measurement times insuccession indicate “light seen.” At this point, the transceiver assumesan incoming pulse of light from another transceiver has been detected,and shifts from the idling loop to a slightly faster synchronizing loop.During the synchronizing loop, the transmitted light pulse is still onemillisecond ON, but followed by a variable number of light measurements.When in the synchronizing loop, the microprocessor terminates themeasurement set after either a predetermined number of measurements, orwhen the trailing edge of a light pulse is detected. A trailing edge isconsidered to be found when a pair of back-to-back measurements bothindicate “light seen” followed by ten measurements without “light seen.”The execution pattern inside the synchronize loop is therefore composedof one transceiver's LED on for one millisecond, then a one millisecondperiod with both LEDs off, followed by the other transceiver's LED onfor one millisecond, and finally both LEDs off for one millisecond. Evenif the transceivers have clock frequency errors of up to 25%, they willstill be able to synchronize. The nominal synchronize loop pulse rate is250 Hz, with a 25% duty cycle. During communication, data bits aretransmitted in asynchronous form. For example, a one millisecond lightpulse, indicates a MARK and a 0.5 millisecond light pulse indicates aSPACE. The system normally idles with MARK bits being transmitted. Here,the operation of the data transfer loop is the same as the synchronizeloop. During data transmission, the format is at least 16 MARK bits toallow synchronization, then a single SPACE as a start bit, followed byeight bits of data, followed by one MARK as a stop bit. This is similarto the common 8-N-1 RS-232 format. To decode the light pulses, thereceiving transceiver keeps a count of “light seen” measurements foreach execution of the synchronize loop. If seven or fewer light-seenmeasurements are counted, then a SPACE is recorded; if eight or morepulses are counted, then a MARK is recorded. The usual asynchronousdeframing, i.e., dropping the leading SPACE start bit and the trailingMARK stop bit, can be performed. The resulting 8-bit data word is thenavailable to the application-level program. Simple data communicationscan also be combined with error correction and encryption. Other opticalcommunications protocols are also possible.

In some applications, the peer-to-peer ability to transfer informationor authorization is desirable. In other applications, such as financialand other secure transactions, authentication is as important as thedata transfer itself, and the uncontrolled passing of authority must beprevented. An unfortunate side effect of the programmable nature of thetransceiver is that there is no guarantee that another transceiver willrespect any “do not forward” data tags that may be inserted by anapplication. Non-transferable authorization and unforgeableproof-of-identity are difficult problems with many subtleties. However,simple cryptography is possible and can be used to keep the transceiverstransactions secure from eavesdropping and spoofing. The microprocessorused has sufficient power to implement common symmetric cryptographicalgorithms. These require the transmitter and receiver to share a secretkey so communication between any two transceivers is configured inadvance. The transceiver can be equipped with sufficient memory to holdmany symmetric encryption keys and can therefore be set up tocommunicate with a large number of other transceivers. Zero-knowledgeproofs (ZKP) and public-key (or asymmetric) cryptography enable thetransceiver to securely prove its identity and communicate with anytransceiver that had access to published information, see Schneier,“Applied Cryptography,” 2nd edition, John Wiley and Sons, New York,N.Y., 1996, pp. 101-111. No shared secrets are necessary.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary LED ambient light sensor. The LED is aphotodiode that is sensitive to light at and above the wavelength thatwhich it emits (barring any filtering effects of a colored plasticpackage). Under reverse bias conditions, a simple model for the LED is acapacitor in parallel with a current source which models the opticallyinduced photocurrent. The system measures the photocurrent. One way tomake a photodetector out of an LED is to tie the anode to ground andconnect the cathode to a CMOS I/O pin driven high. This reverse biasesthe diode, and charges the capacitance. Next switch the I/O pin to inputmode, which allows the photocurrent to discharge the capacitance down tothe digital input threshold. By timing how long this takes, thephotocurrent can be measure to determine the amount of incident light.The microprocessor interface technique uses one additional digital I/Opin, but no other additional components compared to those need to simplylight the LED. Since the circuit draws only microwatts of power, it hasa minimal impact on battery life.

In one embodiment, the LED blinks very fast, and then ambient light isdetected when the LED is off. The LED is connected to general 10 portGP0 with a resistor between the LED and GP1. When GP0 is high, and GP1is low, will it conduct, and emit light. When the GP0 is low, and GP1 ishigh, then the LED is off. The LED is charged to −5V across it, and whenthe GP1 turns into tri-state and goes low, and the time depends oncapacity and on current in LED. A 16-bit Sigma Delta ADC is used todetect the voltage output of the LED when it is off. The voltage outputis proportional to the amount of light in the room and can be used toturn on/off room lighting or other peripherals.

FIG. 6A shows the “Emitting” mode where current is driven in the forwarddirection, lighting the LED. FIG. 6B shows “Reverse Bias” mode, whichcharges the capacitance and prepares the system for measurement. Theactual measurement is made in “Discharge” mode shown in FIG. 6 c. Sincethe current flowing into a CMOS input is extremely small, the low valuecurrent limiting resistor has little impact on the voltage seen at theinput pin. The system times how long it takes for the photocurrent todischarge the capacitance to the pin's digital input threshold. Theresult is a simple circuit that can switch between emitting andreceiving light. Because the circuit changes required to provide thisbidirectional communication feature consist of only one additional I/Opin, adding the light sensor is essentially free.

In one embodiment, a TI MSP430F20x3 microcontroller is used to drive anLED. The LED is used both as an indicator or night light and an ambientroom light sensor. The voltage generated by the LED is measured using abuilt-in 16 bit sigma delta converter. A LED voltage reading is obtainedevery 200 ms. Based on predefined “Min” and “Max” reference values, theactive duty cycle for lighting ballasts is adjusted according to thecurrent light conditions. The darker the ambient light is, the more theballasts will be set so that room will be illuminated. Themicrocontroller/LED is exposed to darkness for a short moment in orderto calibrate the LED's offset voltage. A very low frequency oscillator(VLO) is used to clock a timer which is used for both PWM generation toadjust LED brightness but also to derive the timings. A calibrationprocess can be implemented to accommodate for variations in VLOfrequency.

Although a conventional microphone can be used, a low cost LED sensorwith a reflective foil can be used to use sound. FIG. 7 shows anexemplary LED based microphone to detect sound or noise in the room. Inthis embodiment, a base surface 710 supports a cylinder that protrudesfrom the base surface using legs or posts 720. At one end, a flexiblemembrane 730 is positioned to pick up sound and to vibrate according tonoise or sound in the room. A piece of light-reflecting metal foil 740is positioned on one end. Speech or sound vibrates the foil 740. An LED750 is directed at the foil 740 and the vibration is reflected off thefoil on to the same LED 750 acting as a photocell. Sound is thuscaptured by the LED 750 and processed by low power a microcontroller760. The microcontroller 760 is connected to an antenna 780. Radioreflections from occupants in the room cause changes in the RSSI signalwhich is captured and processed by the controller 780 for occupancysensing. To aid the LED receiver in detecting the signal, the lightsource should be pulsed at the highest possible power level. To producethe highest possible light pulse intensity without burning up the LED, alow duty cycle drive must be employed. This can be accomplished bydriving the LED with high peak currents with the shortest possible pulsewidths and with the lowest practical pulse repetition rate. For standardvoice systems, the transmitter circuit can be pulsed at the rate ofabout 10,000 pulses per second as long as the LED pulse width is lessthan about 1 microsecond. Such a driving scheme yields a duty cycle(pulse width vs. time between pulses) of less than 1%. However, if theoptical transmitter is to be used to deliver only an on/off controlsignal, then a much lower pulse rate frequency can be used. If a pulserepetition rate of only 50 pps were used, it would be possible totransmit the control message with duty cycle of only 0.005%. Thus, witha 0.005% duty cycle, even if the LED is pulsed to 7 amps the averagecurrent would only be about 300 ua. Even lower average current levelsare possible with simple on/off control transmitters, if shortmulti-pulse bursts are used. To obtain the maximum efficiency, the LEDshould be driven with low loss transistors. Power field effecttransistors (FET) can be used to efficiently switch the required highcurrent pulses.

In one embodiment, the LED microphone can be used with the occupancysensor or detector, providing an ideal solution for areas withobstructions like bathrooms with stalls or open office cubicle areas.This embodiment first detects motion using the wireless radar system andthen engages the LED microphone to listen for continued occupancy. Thesystem can tune the sound detection to sudden noise changes only andfilters out the background “white” noise.

In another embodiment, the LED microphone can be used with the LEDambient light detector or sunlight sensor/detector. This embodimentfirst detects ambient room light condition using the LED light sensorand then engages the LED microphone to listen for continued occupancy.The system can tune the sound detection to sudden noise changes only andfilters out the background “white” noise.

In another embodiment, the LED microphone can be used with the LED lightdetector and the LED occupancy sensor or detector. This embodiment firstdetects if sufficient light exists, then detects people's motion usingthe wireless radar system and then engages the LED microphone to listenfor continued occupancy. The system can tune the sound detection tosudden noise changes only and filters out the background “white” noise.

In yet other embodiments, the clock kept by the microcontroller can beused to supplement the turn on or off of lighting or power other devicesin the room. The microcontroller can communicate with a ballast. Theballast is the unit in a fluorescent lighting system that provides powerto the fluorescent tube at the proper frequency. Located in the lamp'shousing, it is a featureless metal box containing electronic circuitry.Dimmable ballasts are an advanced design that allow lights to be tunedcontinuously from full brightness to a very low level (usually aboutfive percent of total brightness), to save electricity when less lightis needed or to reduce lighting glare.

The system can detect light, sound and people present to provide anaccurate determination of occupancy and such determination can be usedto effectively provide environmental comforts for the occupants. Oneexemplary process for room environmental control is as follows:

-   -   Check clock to see user specified appliance on-off period is met        and if so, turn appliance on or off    -   Check room light to see if room light is below threshold and if        so        -   Check room microphone to see if people are present and if so            -   Check occupancy sensing radar to sense motion in the                room, and if so, turn on one or more appliances such as                lighting and display terminals in the room.    -   Check room temperature and turn on AC if needed.

A user override button is provided so that the user can manually forcethe room to turn on appliances as desired.

FIGS. 8-9 show exemplary optical mesh networks that communicates overoptical frequencies, and is compatible with the Zigbee protocol in oneembodiment. Another embodiment is compatible with WiFi. Yet anotherembodiment is compatible with IEEE 802 protocols. Data collected andcommunicated on the display 1382 of the watch as well as voice istransmitted to a base station 1390 for communicating over the opticalcommunication network to an authorized party 1394. The watch and thebase station is part of a mesh optical network that may communicate witha medicine cabinet to detect opening or to each medicine container 1391to detect medication compliance. Other devices include mesh networkthermometers, scales, or exercise devices. The mesh network alsoincludes a plurality of home/room appliances 1392-1399. The ability totransmit voice is useful in the case the patient has fallen down andcannot walk to the base station 1390 to request help. Hence, in oneembodiment, the watch captures voice from the user and transmits thevoice over the optical mesh network to the base station 1390. The basestation 1390 in turn dials out to an authorized third party to allowvoice communication and at the same time transmits the collected patientvital parameter data and identifying information so that help can bedispatched quickly, efficiently and error-free. In one embodiment, thebase station 1390 is a POTS telephone base station connected to thewired phone network. In a second embodiment, the base station 1390 canbe a cellular telephone connected to a cellular network for voice anddata transmission. In a third embodiment, the base station 1390 can bean optical network, or a ZigBee, WiMAX or 802.16 standard base stationthat can communicate VOIP and data over a wide area network. In oneimplementation, Zigbee or 802.15 appliances communicate locally and thentransmits to the wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet over WiFior WiMAX. Alternatively, the base station can communicate with the WANover POTS and a wireless network such as cellular or WiMAX or both.

Because optical illumination is constrained by opaque objects such aswalls, the location of an associated device or person can be discernedto a particular room, hallway or other similar space. In contrast,conventional GPS systems and cell phone triangulation techniques aretypically only accurate to one or several hundred feet. Horizontally,this prior art precision is adequate for many applications. However,vertically several hundred feet could encompass twenty floors in anoffice or apartment building. The preferred embodiment, capable ofprecision to a room or light fixture, therefore has much more exactpinpointing than hitherto available. It can locate a person immediately,even in a large area and/or among a large crowd, and can keep track of alarge population simultaneously. The large bandwidth permits videosignals to be integrated, providing the opportunity to createaudio-video records that are fixed in time and location.

Since location may be relatively precisely discerned, opticaltransmitter LEDs may in one embodiment be configured to change color,flash, or otherwise be visually changed or manipulated to assist withdirectional guidance, personnel or intruder identification, energymanagement, or even to facilitate the meeting and connection ofindividuals.

In other embodiments of the invention, numbers of occupants within aspace may be used not only for anticipating illumination, but also tocontrol operation of other appliances and machinery within the building.Exemplary of this, but not limited thereto, are water and space heatersand coolers, and all other electrical, electro-mechanical orelectrically controllable devices.

The system can be used to energy efficient control of appliances such aslighting or cooling/heating devices that use energy consumption in aroom. The wireless mesh network 22 allows for continuous connections andreconfiguration around blocked paths by hopping from node to node untila connection can be established, the mesh network including one or morewireless area network transceivers 10 adapted to communicate data withthe wireless mesh network, the transceiver detecting motion by analyzingreflected wireless signal strength. The appliance is coupled to thetransceiver and the appliance is activated or deactivated in response tosensed motion in the room based on the reflected wireless signalstrength. For example, if the sensor 12 senses no motion over a periodof time, the system turns off non-essential appliances such as thelights and the fan in the room and changes the temperate setting to thelowest cost configuration.

Because each individual emits patterns that are unique to the user, thesystem can automatically recognize the individuals based on his or heremitted pattern. A recognizer can receive user identifiablecharacteristics from the transceiver. The recognizer can be a HiddenMarkov Model (HMM) recognizer, a dynamic time warp (DTW) recognizer, aneural network, a fuzzy logic engine, or a Bayesian network recognizer,among others.

The recognizer can monitor one or more personally identifiablesignatures. For example, the transceiver identifies one person fromanother based on a heart rate signature as measured by a Doppler radar.A sound transducer such as a microphone and/or a speaker can beconnected to the wireless transceiver to communicate audio over atelephone network through the mesh network. A call center or a remotereceptionist can be linked to the transceiver to provide a humanresponse. An indoor positioning using triangulation or RSSI-basedpattern matching can communicate with one or more mesh networkappliances to provide location information. A web server can communicateover the mesh network and to a telephone network to provide informationto an authorized remote user. A wireless router can be coupled to themesh network and wherein the wireless router comprises one of: 802.11router, 802.16 router, WiFi router, WiMAX router, Bluetooth router, X10router.

The optical mesh network appliance can be connected to a power line tocommunicate data to and from the mesh network. A smart meter can relaydata to a utility over the power line and the mesh network to theappliance. The smart meter includes bi-directional communication, powermeasurement and management capability, software-controllable disconnectswitch, and communication over low voltage power line. A remoteprocessor that can remotely turn power on or off to a customer, readusage information from a meter, detect a service outage, detect theunauthorized use of electricity, change the maximum amount ofelectricity that a customer can demand at any time; and remotely changethe meters billing plan from credit to prepay as well as from flat-rateto multi-tariff. The appliance minimizes operating cost by shiftingenergy use to an off-peak period in response to utility pricing thatvaries energy cost by time of day. A rechargeable energy reservoir suchas a fuel cell or a battery can supply energy to the appliance, and thereservoir is charged during a utility off-peak period and used during autility peak pricing period. Solar panels, wind mill, or other sourcesof renewable energy can be provided outside the premises to generatelocal energy that recharges the reservoir or store energy in the utilitygrid.

The appliance's operation is customized to each individual's preferencesince the system can identify each individual through his or her heartrate signature, among others. Each user can set his or her preferencesand the system can detect the user's entry into a room and automaticallycustomizes the room to the user. For example, upon entry into a room,the network can stream the user's preferred music into a music player inthe room or alternatively can stream his or her favorite TV shows anddisplay on a screen for the user. Also, lighting level and temperaturecan be customized to the user's preferences. The bed setting can becustomized to reflect the user's preference for a soft or hard mattresssetting. The chair height, tilt/reclination and firmness can be adjustedto the user's preference. The window transparency or tint can beautomatically set to the user's preferred room brightness. Phone callscan automatically be routed to the user's current position. If there aremany people in the room, the appliance's operation is customized to aplurality of individuals in a room by clusterizing all preferences anddetermining a best fit preference from all preferences.

In one embodiment, the system can be set to provide Occupancy SensorTime Delays, Switch Operation (Manual/Automatic On), Enable/DisableMicrophone Occupancy Sensor/Door Sensor/Other Sensor, Custom DeviceNames, Photocell Setup & Control, 2-Pole Device Settings, DimmingLimits, Remote Firmware Upgrades. The system can also Override LightsON/OFF, Scheduled ON/OFF, Auto-ON/OFF with Occupancy, Manual ON/OFF viaLocal Switch, Auto-Dim via LED Sensing, Auto-ON/OFF via LED Sensing,Auto-ON/OFF with Astronomical Clock, Increase Dim Level

Decrease Dim Level. The system can also schedule (date/hour/minute)changes to any setting or control mode with convenient recurrencepatterns: daily, weekly, weekdays, weekends, etc. Preset and CustomDevice Groups selection enable quick programming of zones. The systemalso provides automatic Daylight Savings Adjustment.

Lobby

-   -   Auto-ON with first occupant    -   Permanent ON (no OFFs due to Vacancy) during working hours    -   Photocell overrides lights OFF during peak daylight    -   Return to occupancy-based control during non-working hours

Private Office

-   -   Custom time delays based on occupant requirements    -   Lumen maintenance through ceiling dimming photosensor    -   User-selected dim levels

Open Office

-   -   Requires first morning occupant to initiate Lights ON    -   Permanent ON status during working hours    -   Standard occupancy control during evening non-working hours    -   Short time delays during late night guard walk through

Restroom

-   -   2-Pole sensor controls light and fan separately    -   Light turns OFF shortly after vacancy; fan runs for extended        time    -   Varying time delay periods for working vs. non-working hours in        order to maintain lamp life while maximizing energy savings

Retail Floor

-   -   Occupancy control during early morning stocking hours    -   Lights are on Time-of-Day/Day-of-Week schedule during store        hours    -   Occupancy control during evening cleaning hours    -   Occupancy sensors automatically accommodate special late night        sales without reprogramming system

Classroom

-   -   System accommodates inboard/outboard switching (A/B)    -   Stepped dimming or continuous dimming with local set-point        control    -   Dual Technology (PDT) during class hours, single technology        (PIR) and shortened time delays during cleaning periods

Parking Garage/Lot

-   -   Astronomical dawn and dusk times available    -   Photocell override during daylight hours    -   All lights extinguished during times when garage is closed

In one embodiment, the mesh resembles a street grid, with wireless“streets” connecting at various intersections. Each intersection is anode on the network. Nodes serve two functions. They can transmit,receive, and interpret information. They can also function as repeaters,allowing information to hop from one node to the next en route to itsdestination. If one node fails, another optical repeater can reroute thesignal through the mesh to the appropriate receiver. The opticalnetworks are self-configuring. The sending node only needs to know theaddress of the receiving node. The data's exact route through the meshmeanders from node to node until it completes its journey. The networkedmesh of optical nodes is called a personal area network (PAN). Each PANoperates independently of all others. Nodes within the PAN serve twopurposes. The stack layer routes messages from an originating node to areceiving node. It is what allows nodes to function as repeaters,relaying data through the mesh. The application layer fulfills afunction on the network. For example, a temperature sensor's function isto transmit temperature information to the building management system.Before it can function, each node must be associated with a PAN. This isaccomplished through a multistage commissioning process. Each node has aunique IEEE 802 MAC address. Some are preprogrammed at the factory or bytheir installers to “know” the PAN to which they are intended to belong.If not, the newly installed node's first action is to search the meshfor a commissioning tool. The commissioning tool, often a laptop,identifies the node by its unique address, establishes a connection andprograms it to belong to a given PAN. A second tool, residing on thesame laptop, uploads application data. Once programmed, the node mustfind its PAN on the mesh. It issues a series of calls designed to locatea node designated as the coordinator. Only one coordinator exists oneach PAN. Once the new node and coordinator find and recognize oneanother, a connection is established. The optical network is capable oftransmitting encrypted data for added security. Security-enabled PANshave an additional node designated as the trust center. When the newnode joins the PAN, the trust center determines whether it haspermission to send and receive encrypted messages. If so, it programsthe node with security policies such as whether the encryption key willbe fixed or dynamic.

In one embodiment, the system tunnels BACnet data over the opticalnetwork. Once the optical node finds and connects to its PAN, it mustfind the subset of nodes that form its BACnet network. It does this inthree ways: with a broadcast, multicast, or unicast call. A broadcastcall goes out to the entire PAN. Each node within the PAN receives themessage, interprets the message, and replies with whether or not itbelongs to the appropriate BACnet network. Although broadcast calls areprogrammatically simple to make, they place undue stress on the opticalnetwork, consuming bandwidth and forcing every node on the PAN to readand interpret the message. A multicast call is preferable in most cases.Here, a group of nodes is predefined as belonging to the BACnet network.Nodes not belonging to this predefined set can quickly reject the callwithout receiving and interpreting much data. Because this processconsumes less bandwidth, it is preferable for larger networks. For aunicast to work, the new node must be programmed to connect with onepredefined node on the BACnet network. The node pings every other nodein the PAN until it finds the appropriate BACnet node. The processconserves bandwidth but takes longer. Once all optical nodes locate andassociate themselves with their assigned BACnet networks, they establisha pipeline for data transmission. A series of calls is placed todetermine how data will flow through the pipeline. The process refinesrate, speed, and other parameters to ensure the most efficient flow ofinformation. The integrated BACnet and optical network is fullyconfigured after the commissioning process is complete. Data travels onthe optical network much the same as it would on a wired network.Neither the light network nor BACnet restricts the size of messages.Both technologies can accommodate any size message by chopping it intopackets. This ability is called segmentation in BACnet and fragmentationin other networks.

In one embodiment, the optical network complies with Zigbee protocol andBacNet 135-2008q-3 which defines the use of ZigBee as a BACnet data linklayer. In another embodiment, the BACnet data link layer directlysupports the optical network protocol.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary smart grid with optical home area network3080, optical commercial industrial building network 3090 and utility3094. In one embodiment, the controller receives time-based pricing fromthe utility 3094. Time-based pricing refers to a type offer or contractby a provider of a service or supplier of a commodity, in which theprice depends on the time when the service is provided or the commodityis delivered. The rational background of time-based pricing is expectedor observed change of the supply and demand balance during time.Time-based pricing includes fixed time-of use rates for electricity andpublic transport, dynamic pricing reflecting current supply-demandsituation or differentiated offers for delivery of a commodity dependingon the date of delivery (futures contract). Most often time-basedpricing refers to a specific practice of a supplier.

Time-based pricing of services such as provision of electric powerincludes

-   -   time-of-use pricing (TOU pricing), whereby electricity prices        are set for a specific time period on an advance or forward        basis, typically not changing more often than twice a year.        Prices paid for energy consumed during these periods are        preestablished and known to consumers in advance, allowing them        to vary their usage in response to such prices and manage their        energy costs by shifting usage to a lower cost period or        reducing their consumption overall;    -   critical peak pricing whereby time-of-use prices are in effect        except for certain peak days, when prices may reflect the costs        of generating and/or purchasing electricity at the wholesale        level    -   real-time pricing (also: dynamic pricing) whereby electricity        prices may change as often as hourly (exceptionally more often).        Price signal is provided to the user on an advanced or forward        basis, reflecting the utility's cost of generating and/or        purchasing electricity at the wholesale level; and    -   peak load reduction credits for consumers with large loads who        enter into pre-established peak load reduction agreements that        reduce a utility's planned capacity obligations.

Since the system can track user position quite accurately, the systemcan store and analyze personal information including medicine takinghabits, eating and drinking habits, sleeping habits, or excise habits.The information can be used to track the user's general health.

Optical building solutions embody the prevailing goal of sustainablebuildings: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Fewer wired and more wirelesssolutions mean less disposed cabling will end up in landfills and lesswaste will be burned and emitted as toxic gases into the environment.

System Retrofits—Wireless optical solutions are ideally suited forexisting spaces because they eliminate the need to remove floors, wallsor ceilings to access control products. People or processes no longerneed to relocate while upgrades are under way, allowing continued accessto labs, sensitive storage, health facilities and critical processareas.

Reconfiguring Space—Open floor plans, multi-purpose areas or temporaryspaces can now be automated. Wireless optical controls and opticalsensors can be easily moved to suit the needs of tenants or one-timeevents. Conference and exhibition halls, warehouses, and auditoriums arejust a few examples of spaces that are frequently restructured fordifferent purposes.

Structural Restrictions—Buildings or areas with concrete, marble andcinderblock can now be wirelessly controlled using light. Spaces withatriums, high ceilings, historical features and other uniquearchitectural elements can now be controlled wirelessly and withoutexpensive wiring or worry of damaging unique architectural features.

Sensitive Environments—Facilities such as hospitals, museums, labs anddata centers often house materials requiring very precise and stable airconditioning and are ideally suited for wireless optical control. Withnon-invasive installation, wireless optical control products make itpossible for these areas to perform to the best of their ability.

In addition to being directed to the embodiments described above andclaimed below, the present invention is further directed to embodimentshaving different combinations of the features described above andclaimed below. As such, the invention is also directed to otherembodiments having any other possible combination of the dependentfeatures claimed below.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is,therefore, desired that the present embodiment be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made tothe appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicatethe scope of the invention.

Further, the particular features presented in the dependent claims canbe combined with each other in other manners within the scope of theinvention such that the invention should be recognized as alsospecifically directed to other embodiments having any other possiblecombination of the features of the dependent claims. For instance, forpurposes of claim publication, any dependent claim which follows shouldbe taken as alternatively written in a multiple dependent form from allprior claims which possess all antecedents referenced in such dependentclaim if such multiple dependent format is an accepted format within thejurisdiction (e.g. each claim depending directly from claim 1 should bealternatively taken as depending from all previous claims). Injurisdictions where multiple dependent claim formats are restricted, thefollowing dependent claims should each be also taken as alternativelywritten in each singly dependent claim format which creates a dependencyfrom a prior antecedent-possessing claim other than the specific claimlisted in such dependent claim below.

This completes the description of the preferred and alternateembodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art may recognizeother equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein whichequivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attachedhereto.

The above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive.This description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one ofordinary skill in this art. The various elements shown in the individualfigures and described above may be combined or modified for combinationas desired. All these alternatives and variations are intended to beincluded within the scope of the claims where the term “comprising”means “including, but not limited to”.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for use in conjunction with astandardized electrical connector of a conventional light bulb or tube,comprising: a. one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) electricallycoupled to at least one electrical connector compatible with aconventional light connector, wherein the LEDs include at least oneoptical transmitter and receiver module optically coupled to a broadbandoptical network greater than 1 Mbps with a first mode to generate lightand a second mode to bidirectionally transmit and receive broadbandoptical data transmissions over one or more optical channels usingmultiplexed bands; and b. a controller coupled to the LEDs, thecontroller adjusting LED light output and communicating with the opticalnetwork using the optical transmitter and receiver module.
 2. The systemof claim 1, comprising an audio transducer in the bulb receiving musicor sound data transmitted over the optical network.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein each light bulb stores positioning or locationinformation to uniquely identify a position of an occupant.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the controller minimizes LED operating costby shifting energy use to an off-peak period in response to utilitypricing that varies energy cost by time of day.
 5. The system of claim1, wherein the optical network communicates lighting profiles thatincorporate time-based control with occupancy, daylighting, and manualcontrol and wherein the controller integrates time-based lightingcontrol with occupancy sensing control.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the at least one electrical connector includes an electrodeselected from a group consisting of: a pair of bi-pin end capsconfigured for engagement with a standard fluorescent tube receivingfixture; and an Edison screw connector for a light bulb.
 7. The systemof claim 6, comprising a user replaceable circuit board in electricalcommunication with at least one of the bi-pin end caps, and wherein thecontroller and at least one LED serving as the optical transmitter andreceiver are mounted on the circuit board and in electricalcommunication therewith; and wherein the at least one LED includesmultiple LEDs that output an amount of light substantially equal to anamount of light produced by a conventional fluorescent tube.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein one or more LEDs detect one or more of motionand sound.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the light bulb comprises areceiver that receives an auxiliary signal generated from a sourceoutside the bulb indicative of whether the one or more rooms in thebuilding are in the occupied state or unoccupied state; and wherein thecontroller is operable to control the at least one LED in response tothe auxiliary signal.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the controllerestimates an amount of power being used by the building and controls theat least one LED based on the estimated amount of power.
 11. The systemof claim 1, wherein controller controls at least one of a temperaturesetting, an airflow setting, a humidity setting, and a brightnesssetting of a building environment regulator.
 12. The system of claim 1,comprising: an LED-based light, at least one LED, a sensor operable tooutput a first signal indicative of whether an area of one or more ofthe rooms is in an occupied state or a non-occupied state, an LEDcontroller operable to control the at least one LED in response to thefirst signal, and a transmitter operable to transmit a second signalindicative of whether the area is in the occupied state or thenon-occupied state; and a regulator controller in communication with thetransmitter and operable to control one or more functions of thebuilding environment regulator in response to the second signal.
 13. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the at least one optical transceiver isconstructed and arranged to communicate with a thermostat, a videocamera, a public address system, a smoke detector, an identificationtag, a name tag.
 14. The system of claim 1, comprising a userreplaceable circuit board having a plurality of light emitting diodesand at least one photodetector attached thereto and wherein thecontroller communicates with the broadband over power linecommunications system.
 15. The system of claim 1, comprising amultiband-type ultra-wideband (UWB) receiver using the one or moreoptical channels defined, and using one or more orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) bands.
 16. The system of claim 1,plurality of optical transceivers can be used where each the transceiverincludes an optical data communications transmitter configured tomodulate data to be transmitted onto an optical output of thetransceiver and an optical data communications receiver configured toreceive an optical signal and to demodulate the received signal torecover transmitted data, and wherein transmitter is configured tospread the transmitted data using a pseudorandom sequence, and whereinthe receiver in configured to despread the received optical signal torecover the transmitted data.
 17. The system of claim 1, comprising arouting table storing an identifier that uniquely identifies a paththrough the network to a destination for a data packet, wherein when atransceiver initially connects to an optical network a unique identifieris broadcasted to other transceivers (nodes) within range forconfiguration of a local routing table, and forwarded by the nodes toother nodes within the network to make the network aware of the newconnection.
 18. The system of claim 1, comprising a plurality of LEDsthat transmit and receive at different wavelengths to transmit data inparallel over different wavelengths.
 19. A system for use in conjunctionwith a standardized electrical connector of a conventional light bulb ortube, comprising: a. one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)electrically coupled to at least one electrical connector compatiblewith a conventional light connector, wherein the LEDs include at leastone multiband-type transceiver to bidirectionally transmit and receivebroadband optical data transmissions greater than 1 Mbps and having oneor more optical channels defined using one or more orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) bands; and b. a controllercoupled to the LEDs, the controller adjusting LED light output andcommunicating with the optical network using the multiband-typetransceiver.
 20. An LED-based light operable in cooperation with abuilding environment regulator that provides high speed datacommunication and regulates at least one environmental condition in oneor more rooms of a building, the LED-based light tube comprising: a tubeincluding a light transmitting portion and a pair of electricalconnectors attached to opposing ends of the tube, the electricalconnectors compatible with a standard fluorescent light fixture; one ormore first LEDs operable to produce light that passes through the lighttransmitting portion of the tube; one or more second LEDs operable as alight sensor to generate a first signal whether an area of one or moreof the rooms is in an occupied state or a non-occupied state; one ormore third LEDs providing an optical communication system tobidirectionally transmit and receive broadband optical datatransmissions greater than 1 Mbps; and a controller operable to controlthe first LEDs in response to the first signal and communicating withother devices through the one or more third LEDs the first signalindicative of whether the area is in the occupied state or thenon-occupied state to the building environment regulator.